Timberwolves acquire all-star forward Jimmy Butler from Chicago

Minnesota Timberwolves head coach Tom Thibodeau, left, shakes hands with his former player Chicago Bulls' Jimmy Butler after an NBA basketball game Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2016, in Chicago. The Timberwolves won 99-94. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

After 14 months of relative inactivity, Tom Thibodeau made what may be the biggest splash in Timberwolves history Thursday night.

Minnesota acquired all-star forward Jimmy Butler and the No. 16 pick, which it used to select Creighton center Justin Patton, in Thursday night’s draft in exchange for Zach LaVine, Kris Dunn and the No. 7 pick. Chicago used that pick on Arizona forward Lauri Markkanen, who was a likely candidate to land in Minnesota prior to the trade.

“We felt if we got an opportunity to get a player of Jimmy’s caliber that we would do it,” Thibodeau said.

Minnesota Timberwolves head coach Tom Thibodeau, left, shakes hands with his former player Chicago Bulls’ Jimmy Butler after an NBA basketball game Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2016, in Chicago. The Timberwolves won 99-94. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

Butler, a third-team All-NBA player last season, is one of the league’s top two-way players and brings a veteran presence to a young team that hasn’t made the playoffs in 13 years. The addition of Butler forms a potent trio along with Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins, both former No. 1 overall picks on who appear to be on paths to stardom.

“Already the winner of the night is the Minnesota Timberwolves,” former NBA guard Jalen Rose said on ESPN. “They are legit now in the Western Conference and in the NBA.”

That was likely the goal, as Minnesota moved from a slow, quality rebuild to a team that could be a legitimate threat in the Western Conference next season. Knowing Thibodeau, ESPN college basketball analyst Fran Fraschilla sensed pre-draft that Thibodeau “wants this team to be as good as possible as soon as possible.” Thursday provided a major step in that direction.

Those are words that haven’t been uttered about the Wolves in more than a decade. And they could look even more impressive by offseason’s end, as the addition of Butler figures to make free agents this summer pay more attention to Minnesota as a potential destination.

Thibodeau, the Wolves coach and president of basketball operations, coached Butler in Chicago and had a front-row seat for Butler’s ascension from the 30th pick of the 2011 NBA draft to an all-star. Thibodeau talked to Butler, who’s currently in Europe, over the phone Thursday night and said Butler is “looking forward to coming here, I can tell you that.”

lt’s ironic Thibodeau was able to do a deal with a front office that fired him as coach just two years earlier. Thibodeau said his conversations with the Bulls’ brass were “professional.”

ESPN’s Kevin Pelton graded the trade as an “F” for the Bulls and an “A+” for the Wolves. “Now that this deal has come, it’s far better than anyone could have imagined or perhaps even dreamed,” Pelton wrote.

“For Minnesota, I think it’s a terrific pickup, because Butler gives them an established veteran, a terrific defensive player, a guy who can make shots at the end of games,” former Wolves general manager David Kahn said in a video posted on Sports Illustrated. “And I think that it’s sort of that veteran presence that can galvanize the entire team. … For Minnesota, this is a way to say, ‘You know what? We’re going to be a lot better next year.’ ”

Butler averaged 23.9 points, 6.2 rebounds and 5.5 assists a game last season, shooting 46 percent from the field and 37 percent from three.

“(They’re) adding a legit scorer and a big-time competitor,” an NBA scout said. “Ricky (Rubio) has targets all over the floor.”

Butler also averaged 1.9 steals and is widely considered one of the league’s best perimeter defenders. He was a second-team all-defensive player for the three seasons before this past season. The 2016-17 season’s team has not been announced, but Butler is a good bet to be on it.

“You’re getting a two-way player,” Thibodeau said. “You’re getting a guy who can score a lot of different ways. He can guard multiple positions. He can actually guard four positions well. He makes big shots late. He plays the right way. He’s tough. He practices hard. Smart. So we’re excited to get him.”

Defense is where Butler may make his biggest immediate impact in Minnesota. The Timberwolves were tied for fourth-worst in the NBA in defensive efficiency last season, despite being coached by Thibodeau, known as a defensive guru. Minnesota was in desperate need of a shutdown defender capable of limiting an opponent’s top wing scorer.

“This is a top-15 player in the league,” Tom Penn, a former NBA assistant general manager, said during ESPN’s broadcast. “It’s time for them to get better, to get more serious, and Thibs is ready to go now. Great trade for the Timberwolves, bringing this guy in with all the kids.”

Butler has two years and roughly $38.5 million left on his contract.

In LaVine, the Timberwolves surrender a rising star who established himself as one of the league’s better young scorers. He averaged 18.9 points last season while shooting 39 percent from three before tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee in February. The injury caused him to miss the rest of the season, but LaVine’s recovery is going well.

Still, while LaVine and Wiggins look like good candidates to eventually become some of the best wings the NBA has to offer, Butler is already there. He set career highs in points, assists and rebounds last season, and you get the sense his best still is yet to come.

“To get a player like Jimmy you have to give good players up, and we did,” Thibodeau said. “We felt it was something that our team needed. We’re excited. Jimmy is … just going into the prime of his career, so we’re excited about that.”